As I type this I am camping (something that has become second nature to me these days) on an island called Brac that is off the coast of Croatia. We just finished a full 5 weeks of ministry in Bosnia and are here for debrief. I have to admit that it is nice to be able to relax and let things soak in for a while.
Though it is a wonderful here and it’s a beautiful place my heart is broken. With this being Eastern Europe we are exposed to the “European” lifestyles that people are living. The sin they are living in, the hope that they have in something or things that have no substance, the way they look for answers in these that have no answers.
More than these things, my heart is broken for the girls here. They have no sense of self worth, self esteem; many don’t eat because they are so worried that they won’t fit into the “beautiful, skinny” European category if they do. On the other hand, many of these girls are imprisoned to something they have no choice of… that is the sex slave industry.
Bosnia i Herzegovina is one of the countries largely populated with girls that have been trafficked into this business. During December of 1995 more than 50,000 NATO peacekeepers came to Bosnia to try and help restore order due to the war that was going on. During this time many of these men were charged with rape and sent out of the country, but that did not stop things. Infact, it opened the door to the industry.
Within the next couple of years thousands of girls were trafficked into this area and became the “pleasures” for tens of thousands of UN peacekeepers, international workers, and law enforcement officers. The only reason that this industry exist in Bosnia is because of the UN peacekeepers, if it wasn’t for them there would be very little to no sex slave trade.
My first 2 weeks in Bosnia we did ministry helping to set up “camp” where hundreds of youth, teenagers, kids, and families would come and be able to hear the gospel. The next 3 weeks I was doing ministry in a place called Tuzla. When I first arrived in Tuzla I had a very hard time with being there. I was upset at the fact that we spent all this time setting camp up just to leave before the first group go there. So, here I was in Tuzla asking the lord “why” and not wanting to be there.
It was then, sitting on my bed one day that He spoke to me and reminded me that my thoughts are not His thoughts and my ways are not His ways… but His are better. He also told me to be silent, listen, and trust Him… He has not failed me yet… Kim, you are here in Tuzla for a reason and I will reveal that to you as long as you are faithful and listen.
As many of you know, the Lord has broken my heart for these girls in the sex slave industry that “have to hope”… but they do and I want to be able to show these girls and tell these girls what their hope is. Come to find out… Tuzla is one of the main cities in Bosnia were this industry is rampant. Being only 4 hours from Sarajevo (where the “heart” of the war was) there is a military base there that became (and still is) one of the main forms of customers to this industry.
Hearing this news made me outraged. It makes me so mad at these men that “trick” these girls into this industry, the men that are customers to these girls, and the men that are the pimps that will beat these girls if they do not turn over enough tricks in one night. When that anger starts to rise, I pray that the Lord will fill me with His love for not only the girls but for these men because the fact is, He loves these men. His heart breaks for them, but they are enslaved to Satan and his ways. They are in such darkness that they can not see the light. It is our job to love them, just as much as the girls and show them the light, that we are different and it’s because of the light that lives in us… the light in the darkness.
One of the Tuzla girls tells “I went with between 8-15 men a night. I did not want to have sex with any of them. If I did not do as I was told, my owner would beat me to death.” She was able to escape the industry and is now “out” but while she was in, within a couple of months she was raped more than 1800 times. She went for $50 and never saw one cent of it.
She tells of a night that she was the birthday present for an entire platoon of men and whatever they wanted she had to give them. The entire time she had to smile and make them believe she was enjoying herself. “These men were animals. They cared nothing about the fact that I was their prisoner. All they wanted was sex.” After this incident, her brothel was raided one night and she was arrested. She recognized 8 of her “clients” among the police who were involved in the bust.
There are hundreds of other stories that could be told that are just like this girls. Those that have no choice but to be enslaved to their “owners” and this lifestyle. Many of them want out so bad, but while they are “in” become so numb that they literally don’t care about anything anymore. The police come in and do a raid to get them out and many of them go right back in because it’s all they know and they care about nothing else, they are shamed and feel like they mean absolutely nothing.
What is the answer to this? We know that there is only one answer that can solve this sickening industry and that is for the Lord to send the Holy Spirit to come in and rescue these precious girls. Yes.. many many people look at this and say the problem is too great, it is too huge, it is beyond help… but it’s NOT. I know that nothing is too big, too great for my God. He is able to do anything and in that is where I put my faith and trust.
It is my job (our job) to do as He asks… trust Him. We must be faithful to the fact of trusting Him and not trying to “solve” this in our own human strength and He will always be faithful to us. As I cry out to the Lord, my heart breaking for these girls I continue to hold on to the promise that He hears my prayers and that they will be answered.
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. “ Hebrews 11:1
“And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” Matthew 21:22
These are simple verses that we all know, but many times just think of them for a brief moment and that is it. Test your faith…how real is it? Are you trusting the Lord to be faithful and answer your prayers or are you still relying on your own “control and strength”?
Stories and statistics come from The Natashas Inside The Global Sex Trade by: Victor Malarex
